PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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Heavy snow fell in Plymouth on Friday January 26th 1945, following the coldest night of the winter on Monday 22nd/Tuesday 23rd, when there was 24½ degrees of frost recorded. Two corvettes and the SS Persier were sunk in daylight on Sunday February 11th 1945 by a German U-boat between Burgh Island and the Eddystone Lighthouse. On Saturday March 3rd 1945 ice creams once again went on sale at Gaumont cinemas. They had been withdrawn from sale in 1942. At midnight on Thursday March 15th 1945 the part-time firemen of the National Fire Service were stood down. The full-time men continued to serve. Mr A V Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty, opened a new NAAFI club on the site of the old Royal Hotel on Friday March 16th 1945. The Minister of Education, Mr R A Butler, visited the City on Monday March 19th 1945. On Tuesday March 27th 1945 the last of the V2 Rockets landed in Britain. The air raid warning system was discontinued on Wednesday May 2nd 1945. On Monday May 7th 1945 it was announced that Germany had surrendered unconditionally at 2.41am, French time. Tuesday May 8th 1945 was VE (Victory in Europe) Day. The streets lights went back on in Plymouth on Friday May 11th 1945, the first time for five and a half years. On Wednesday May 23rd 1945 the Prime Minister, Mr Winston Churchill, tendered his resignation to the King. The Lord Mayor of London opened the Plymouth Royal and Merchant Navies Week on Saturday May 26th 1945. On Wednesday June 13th 1945 public pleasure services were resumed in the Hamoaze when the "Swift" left Phoenix Wharf for the Royal Albert Bridge. This return to normality proved very popular and the "Lively" was put on as a relief boat. Between them they carried about 150 passengers. Permission had been given to run the trips twice daily and Wednesdays and Saturdays and it was hoped to extend the trips to Calstock, as before the War. At the Plymouth City Council Works Committee meeting on Wednesday June 13th, it was agreed to reinstate the automatic traffic signals at the corner of Frankfort Street, George Street and Bedford Street and also at the corner of Old Town Street and Treville Street. The estimated cost of the whole scheme was £1,160. Demobilisation started on Monday June 18th 1945. The Royal Mail Lines' passenger liner "Drina" landed passengers at Plymouth on Tuesday June 19th 1945, the first liner to call for five and a half years. She had taken 16 days to cross from Argentina and carried 25 passengers and 7,000 tons of meat bound for British troops in Germany. On Sunday July 1st 1945 HMAS Australia, flagship of the Australian Royal Navy, arrived at Devonport for a refit. The General Election was held on Thursday July 5th 1945. Double Summer Time ended for the last time on Saturday July 14th 1945, when clocks were put back one hour. The following day, Sunday July 15th 1945, the street lamps in Plymstock were once again lit. The milk ration for non-priority consumers was cut on Sunday July 15th 1945 from 3 to 2½ pints a week. The tea ration was increased on Sunday July 22nd 1945 from 2 to 2½ ounces. The General Election results were announced on Thursday July 26th 1945. It was a sweeping victory for the Labour Party, with Plymouth returning three Labour Members of Parliament, Mrs L Middleton, Sutton Division; Mr HM Medland, Drake Division; and Mr Michael Foot, Devonport Division. Mr Clement Atlee became the new Prime Minister. On Thursday August 2nd 1945, His Majesty King George VI met with President Truman of the United States aboard HMS Renown moored in Plymouth Sound. The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on Sunday August 5th 1945 with the second bomb being dropped on Nagasaki on Thursday August 9th. A grand firework display was given in Plymouth Sound on Wednesday August 15th 1945 by HMS Renown and other ships of the fleet. There were bonfires in many places, including Plymouth Hoe. The Minister of Fuel approved a decrease of 2d per gallon in the price of petrol on Monday August 20th 1945. Japan surrendered unconditionally on Sunday September 2nd 1945. Following the appointment in August 1945 of a de-commissioning officer, the Vicarage Road United States' Army Camp at St Budeaux was de-commissioned on Tuesday September 25th 1945. It was probably on that date the remainder of the United States Naval Advanced Amphibious Base was closed. On Monday October 1st 1945 the Great Western Railway re-started the Royal Mail Postal special trains from London Paddington to Plymouth and Penzance. It had ceased running in September 1940. The inaugural train was headed by 6019 "King Henry V" and the Guard was a Plymouth man, Mr B J Yate, who lived at Long Rowden, Peverell.
This is what the centre of
Plymouth looked like after the POST 1945 Bread rationing was introduced on July 21st 1946, which created an outrage as the reason behind it was to help starving Germans. There was also a fuel crisis in 1947 which brought about rationing. Plympton's British Restaurant closed, despite objections, on March 31st 1947. It had been opened in November 1943. On Saturday August 30th 1947 it was once again possible to treat your girlfriend to some chocolates during picture shows at Gaumont cinemas. They had been withdrawn in 1943. Clothes were the first to be de-rationed, in March 1948, followed by bread in July 1948, jam in December 1948, petrol in May 1950, when a low-octane unbranded fuel became available, tea on October 1952, sweets in February 1953, eggs in March 1953, cream in April 1953, sugar in September 1953, butter, cheese, margarine and other cooking fats in May 1954. Rationing formally ended on July 2nd 1954, when meat products became freely available. The following day a large crowd gathered in Trafalgar Square in central London to ceremonially rear up their ration books in celebration. The last German prisoners of war left the camp at Chaddlewood, Plympton, on Friday May 7th 1948, bound for a repatriation camp in Suffolk. Another feature of the post-War period was National Service. The National Service Act 1948 became effective on January 1st 1949 and fixed the period of military service to eighteen months. This was followed by four years in the reserve forces. The Korean War of 1950 led to an increase in the period of service to two years but the time in the reserves was reduced by six months. National Service came to an end on December 31st 1960 and the last man, Lieutenant Richard Vaughan, was discharged from the Royal Army Pay Corps on May 13th 1963. Next - Reconstruction
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